After going down with a right ankle injury versus Tennessee, Tua Tagovailoa had a tightrope procedure on Sunday to start this week. It was the same surgery he had on his left ankle last season and while he won’t play against Arkansas, he stands a chance of returning for LSU.
Alabama head coach, Nick Saban stated on Monday that the junior quarterback will have a couple of days where he will not lift weights.
A 10-day period of light rehab will follow as the Crimson Tide’s medical staff gauges the amount of work he can perform. By the end of the bye week heading into LSU week, Tagovailoa should be able to take reps in practice with a boot on.
He told his teammates after the win over the Volunteers that he’ll be back for the showdown with the Tigers on Nov. 9.
Per Chris Fowler of ESPN, he spoke with Marty Jaramillo — founder of I.C.E. Sports Therapy — on the recovery process from tightrope surgery. Jaramillo has spent over 25 years as a Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapist, Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach.
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“The tightrope procedure is game-changing,” Jaramillo said.
“The high ankle sprain has troubled the sports medicine community forever. It’s tough to get back. It’s stubborn, doesn’t present like a regular sprain. Sometimes there is no pain and no swelling, but the ankle is still unstable. Often times, the only way back is a procedure that involved a lot of hardware, screws that because of the demands of sports… those screws broke and guess what, another surgery.”
In terms of Alabama’s athletic trainer, Jeff Allen, Jaramillo said the tightrope procedure relieves stress from the Tide because it allows Tagovailoa to come back to weight bearing in four to five days.
“You can start jogging in nine to ten days,” Jaramillo said.
“I envision Tua taking snaps by the end of two weeks. Now, let’s be honest, we are not talking about mere mortals. We are talking about the elite of all athletes, the elite of all sports medicine teams… Jeff Allen and his team, Doctor Waldrop and his team and we have Tua, a gifted and elite athlete. It is so valuable to have that kind of experience. We talk about muscle memory all the time. There is an injury memory and there is a pain memory. That feedback is so invaluable to give back to the medical team.”
Jaramillo said if Tagovailoa feels he is ready to go, Alabama will ‘let him go.’
“I have all the confidence in the world that Tua will be back in three weeks and ready for the LSU game,” he said.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
